Portuguese warships on Patong Beach in Phuket

No, this has nothing to do with real warships, but Portuguese man-of-war is the name of a rather dangerous tail jellyfish that has recently been seen again on Patong Beach and on the beaches of Surin, Kamala and Nai Thon on Phuket's northwest coast.

Bluebottle

This animal, also known as a bluebottle in English, has the scientific name Physalia physalis and is not a true jellyfish but a complex colony of hundreds of polyps. The name Portuguese man-of-war comes from the explorers of the 16th century, when Portugal was more powerful at sea than England and Spain and the Portuguese man-of-wars frightened everyone, just like this "animal"

Dangerous

The Portuguese man-of-war can sting when touched and its treatment is different from that of a jellyfish. The poison of the polyps is of a different composition, it is not immediately fatal, but it does cause a lot of pain and possibly fever, shock and breathing problems. Still, some people do not survive an encounter with the Portuguese man-of-war due to the danger of getting caught in the water in the tentacles, becoming paralyzed and drowning.

Phuket

Specimens of this species have been found on the beaches of Phuket, washed up by the southwest monsoon. Every year one finds bleubottles there and although people warn about nasty stings, fortunately there have not been any serious cases reported yet. The Phuket Life Guard reported that two tourists had reported being stung last year. They both had breathing difficulties, but they were treated well on the spot and delivered to a hospital before it could take on a serious form.

Video

Below is an Australian video showing the creature. On the video it's just a small one, but I also saw videos (from Florida) with big guys. To stay in naval terms, below a patrol craft, but there are also bleubottles as battleships.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/9LDPHZnP2lc[/youtube]

Source: Phuket News/Wikipedia